


(in)security

by e_katara



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Espionage AU, F/M, its artemis centric, uh...idk man it's got angst and goofing and personal growth and all sorts of other stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_katara/pseuds/e_katara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>oliver queen refused to be a part of the justice league. roy harper didn’t. something big was going down, something bad, something the good guys didn’t have enough of a handle on. oliver and his new sidekick artemis decided to take matters into their own hands, with mixed results.</p><p>or, artemis is a double agent</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this story started out because i wanted to combine an espionage au with cinderella elements. and then proceeded to get thoroughly out of control and pretty far from the initial plan. i like it anyways, though, and i hope you do, too.

"What do you mean,  _no_?"

"Just that. No. Too many powerful people all in one place. It goes wrong way too easily, and I don't trust it."

"Are you saying you don't trust  _us_?" Jeez, no one did the wounded puppy look quite like Superman.

"No. I'm saying I don't trust power. It's one thing for me to work with you guys every now and then. You do good things, and I can respect that. But setting up a  _group_  of people who are this powerful? People are flawed. They lose perspective too easily. No matter how good your intentions are, you're still human. Ish. You know what I mean. And if I get caught up in it, what's to stop me from falling in line with you if things get off track? It's better for all of us if you've got someone who's not in it the way that you all are. So, no, I won't join your league."

The big blue boyscout was taking a deep breath, probably preparing because he was about to tear Ollie a new one, but Batman put a hand on his arm. 

"We accept your decision, although we hope you'll change your mind in the future. That does beg the question, though; what about Roy? And the team?"

"The boy can make his own decisions. Feel free to ask him."

They did. He chose the team, the league. Ollie wasn't surprised, but that didn't mean he wasn't disappointed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Paula, why am I here?" The former assassin was watching him carefully from across her kitchen table.

"You ask me like I would know, Oliver."

Huh? "The call came from you."

"Well, about that." One of her daughters stepped into the room. It was the younger one, Artemis, and he fought not to cringe, because she looked like her dad. He didn't want to condemn the daughter for the sins of the father, but he'd fought Sportsmaster a few too many times no to be wary. He saw her frown at him, and then shake it off. Before he could say anything, she continued. "I know. I look just like dad. I'm not thrilled about it either, but what can you do? Anyways, I'm the one who called you here, not Mom. Sorry for lying, but I  _really_  had to talk to you."

Her mom looked about as shocked as he felt.  _This_  was an interesting development. "Well, I'm here now. Might as well say whatever you were planning on saying."

"Right. Well, uh. Okay, first things first. Mom, I heard you tell dad that you were done with.. All of that. And that I... And that you were going to make me your priority," there were tears welling up in her eyes, but she pressed on. "And I heard him tell you that... That I was going to wind up like him." She stared at her hands for a moment, before continuing. "I just wanted to tell you - to promise you - that it's not going to happen. No matter what, I'll never be like dad."

"Oh, Artemis," Paula breathed, grasping her daughter's hands. The girl was crying, and it was all very touching, but Ollie couldn't help but wonder why she'd called him there.

"But I want to do more than just not be bad. I can do more than that. Dad taught me stuff, and he did it so I could be bad, but I could use it to be... I could use it to do good. Couldn't I? I mean, Oli - Green Arrow, he has the same kinds of skills, and he uses them to do good, right?"

Oh.  _That_  was why he was there.

"I mean, I know I'm probably not your first choice of sidekick, but I'm already kinda trained, right? And I might not know how to be good all on my own, but I could learn. I promise I could learn, and I could - I could take all the things Dad gave me to use to be bad, and use them for good. I could be one of the good guys, I think. I don't have to be bad. Right?"

Well shit. That was... heartbreaking. She stood tall, holding eye contact with him, but her voice was shaking, and he could see the tears she kept blinking back. Tough kid. He could see the Paula in her, then. Fierce, determined, and proud. Unwilling to let her own past or other people's expectations dictate the person she would become.

"You're a lot like your mom, you know that?" Their faces broke into matching smiles as they looked at each other. "Well, Paula, what do you think?"

She thought about it for a moment. "You'll keep her safe?" 

"Absolutely."

"Well, then, Artemis, if you're sure you want to do this, I will support you."

"Yes! Mom, you're the  _best_."

"I know," Paula said, beaming proudly at her daughter.


	3. Chapter 3

 

"So, the Justice League offered you a spot, and you said _no_?"

"I really, really don't need anyone else to tell me what a bad decision they think that was, Artemis."

"No, no, I wasn't going to say that, I swear," she held her hands up defensively, then shrugged. "I was gonna say that I get it. Power has a way of getting to people's heads."

He should have known. She may have only been fifteen, but she was a smart kid, and they understood each other well. Made a darn good team, too. They'd just finished a night on patrol, and were comparing notes. They didn't stay side by side while working, not like he and Roy had. Instead, they roamed independently, notifying the other via comm link if they stumbled across a situation where they'd require backup. That way, they managed to cover a bigger area more effectively in less time. The girl had a natural talent for the work, and was only getting better with time.

"Anything noteworthy tonight?"

"Yeah... No... Sort of? I don't know. I saw Icicle Jr. Only, he wasn't like, doing anything? Which is what's so suspicious. He's always doing something. If he's not up to anything, he's not seen in public, like, ever. He used to brag about it all the time. But I saw him tonight, just walking into some apartment. I watched it for awhile, too. No ice, no explosions, no supervillain-y stuff, no nothing. He left about an hour later. It was weird."

"You think something is going on?"

"It's not like - I don't..." she trailed off, glancing at the ground, her arms folded defensively across her stomach. She was still so uncertain, sometimes. Didn't trust herself. If Oliver ever got another chance at Sportsmaster, he'd break the bastard's jaw for the number he did on this girl. She took a deep, steadying breath before looking back up at him "I don't think. I  _know_  something's up." She set her jaw and looked at him defiantly, like she was daring him to question her.

_There_  was his girl. Smart, confident, determined. He knew they'd only been working together a short time, but she was already family, and he was damn proud of her. 

"Any idea what it might be?"

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "But I was thinking..."

Of course she was thinking. She was always thinking. It was one of the reasons they worked so well together. "Well? I'm on the edge of my seat, here."

"Well, no one knows who I am, right? I mean, I've got the big mask and the disguise and all of that. And I do still sort of have like. connections. Bad connections. My dad's connections. As far as they know, I've just been sitting around with my mom, right? What if I like, went in? I mean, undercover, or whatever. Ish. Act like I'm going into the family business. They'll trust me. And then I can figure out what's going on, and, y'know, report back to you. That way, we can mess up their plans a bit, right? Make sure they can't do too much damage. Stop whatever their big plan is."

Huh. Interesting. "You think there's a big plan?"

"Well, yeah," she said, cocking her head and arching a brow as if it was obvious. "I mean,  _Icicle Jr._  is up to something. Icicle Jr. is nowhere near smart enough to be up to something."

"Maybe it's his dad?"

She scoffed. "Come  _on_ , Ollie. Be real. Icicle Sr. is smarter than his kid, but that's not saying a whole lot. Neither of them are the mastermind type. If they're up to something, and they're playing it  _smart_? Someone else has to be involved. Someone bigger.  _Badder_."

He hated when she was so right. Not because he hated that she was a clever kid who could tell what was going on - he couldn't possibly be prouder of her for that - but because... Damn it, _he_ was supposed to be the mentor. The smart one. He was supposed to teach her, not the other way around.

"So how do you propose we do this?"

She grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Rob, who's the newbie with them?"

"Huh?"

"Blonde hair. Carrying a staff. Never seen her before."

Robin entered the information into his computer as the rest of the team kept watch on their targets. The mission was supposed to be pure recon - observe, report, and whatever you do, don't get caught. If you asked Wally, it was the most boring, pointless kind of mission there was.

"Artemis Crock. Mom was Huntress, dad is Sportsmaster, sister is Cheshire. Looks like she's going into the family business."

"Too bad. She's really hot," Wally said, glancing at the screen over Robin's shoulder.

"Gee, thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Her voice came from behind them, warm and low and raspy. It shivered down Wally's spine and set his pulse racing. "Anyways, your little file is missing a bit of info. I go by Tigress now."

Kaldur stood between her and the team, stared her down. "What do you want?"

"Come on now, you're smarter than that. You should know that it's not about what  _I_  want," she smirked. She was playing with him, taunting him. Hell, she was taunting all of them.

Robin glared at her. "Fine, then. What do  _they_  want?" 

She feigned confusion. "They who? You'll have to be more specific, Boy Wonder."

"You know exactly who he's talking about. Them. The people who hired you," Speedy - er, Red Arrow - spat at her. Something about her was getting underneath the team's collective skin. They were all on edge and pissed off.

She, however, didn't seem concerned at all. "Oh,  _that_  'them'. Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Wally was pretty sure Superboy was audibly growling at her. This girl was walking a fine line, and she was going to get herself hurt. And the idea of her getting hurt absolutely did not tie Wally's stomach in knots. No, it did not. In fact, he wanted it to happen! She was one of the bad guys! Her getting hurt was - well, like, it wasn't good, because like, heroes weren't supposed to want people to get hurt - but it wasn't a bad thing either. She continued, "I wouldn't know. Y'see, I don't really ask questions. In my line of work, too many of those will get you killed."

That did it. She needed to stop standing there, all smug and condescending and gorgeous. Wait, not gorgeous. Evil. Wally'd had about enough of it, and he wasn't afraid to tell her that. He launched himself in her direction, planning on tackling her, only somehow that didn't happen, and he wound up with a face full of dirt and her laughter ringing in his ears. Her laugh totally wasn't a nice sound and he definitely never, ever wanted to hear it again. Seriously.

"Come on,  _Speedy_. You should know better than to telegraph like that."

Oh, he hated her. Like, yeah, okay, he totally hated all the bad guys, because they were bad, and they sucked. But her? She was even worse. Maybe the worst in history. "The  _name_  is Kid Flash."

She smirked. "Oh, I know. Anyways, it sounds like my friends got what they came here for, so I think I'll be leaving now."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," he snarled, preparing to take her down.

"That's the best part," she grinned. "You don't." Then, out of nowhere, there was a cloud of smoke, and by the time it was gone, so was she.

Damn it.


	5. Chapter 5

"How did Roy - er, Red Arrow look? Did he seem like he was doing okay?"

"Speedy's doing fine, Oliver. The team suits him. Although I don't know why you can't just ask him yourself." 

He heaved a sigh. Of course she didn't. "He's like you, Artemis. Like me. Stubborn and proud. He'd never admit it to me if things weren't going so great with the League.

Her eyes softened and she put a hand on his arm. "Ollie, he's doing well. The team is a good fit for him. As far as I could tell, Aqualad was in charge, and he was number two. They seem pretty good. I mean, they see me as the enemy, so, y'know, I don't get like, an all access VIP pass to their interpersonal dynamics or anything, but I know what I saw. He just about took my head off at one point, but that was on me."

"Oh, god. What'd you do?"

"Well, we had to sell the whole me being a villain thing, right? So I did what all the best villains do. I bantered. They bought it, and so did the Shadows," she shrugged. "If this is going to work, no one can suspect that I'm a double agent. You told me that."

He had, but that didn't mean he wasn't still worried by how comfortable with it she seemed. What if she got too into the villain persona? What if she lost sight of the line?

Apparently, she could tell what he was thinking, because her expression fell flat. "I'm not my father, _Arrow_ ," she sneered, and he knew he screwed up. She never called him anything other than Oliver or Ollie unless she was monumentally furious. "I'm no villain. I've proven myself to you like, a dozen times over. I've proven that I can be trusted. I've proven that I know right from wrong, and that I know where the line is, and that I can handle this. I've more than shown you that my family's history doesn't define me. If you're questioning my loyalties, that's  _your_  problem. Here." She shoved a flash drive into his hand and walked away. "The information from the mission. A copy of what the Shadows were after. So I'll see you Saturday for regular patrols. Unless, of course, you've decided that I'm not trustworthy. Or hey! Maybe you've come to the conclusion that my my dad was right, and I really was just _born_ evil."

He thought he heard her voice shaking around that last sentence, like maybe she was trying not to cry. _Crap_.


	6. Chapter 6

"I  _hate_  wearing heels."

"I know you do. It's just the one mission, though, if that helps at all."

"It doesn't," she scowled. Even so, she sat still and let Dinah do her hair and makeup. She was glad that Dinah had started working with her and Ollie sometimes. She was a great fighter, and an excellent counterpoint to Oliver's... Well, everything. Plus, it was  _really_  fun to watch how flustered he got when she was around. He was hard to throw off balance, but Dinah managed it time and time again. And on top of all of that, she _got_  both of them. She was one of the rare few who understood her and Oliver's particular brand of...Artemis didn't know what to call it. The two of them operated on the same wavelength, and it was one that not a lot of people knew how to deal with. Dinah did. She'd been the one to help them mend the fences after what they had come to refer to as "Arrow-gate". Ollie had been the one to come up with a name. It wasn't a good one, but no one else had a better suggestion, so they went with it.

"Would it help if I made Ollie wear stilettos next time we spar?"

Artemis choked, because that made her picture Oliver Queen, billionaire businessman, stumbling around while trying to kickbox in a pair of high heels. The idea was really just... Irresistible. "Yeah. That would help. A little."

"I get it. Heels are literally the least pragmatic choice of footwear imaginable for a covert ops mission. Well, after wooden clogs," she said, catching Artemis's eye in the mirror. " _Never again_. Anyways, I know the footwear isn't ideal, but it's not exactly a combat op either. We went with small heels, too."

"Small? They're three and a half inches!"

"Could be six, kiddo. Could be six."

"Point taken. I've gotta admit, though, I look  _good,_ " she said. And she really did. Her makeup was simple - very subtle, but absolutely perfect. Her hair was in an elegant bun, leaving her neck bare, save for the necklace they'd chosen. It was a simple, delicate thing - a thin silver chain, with a pendant crafted to look like a deer's antlers. The heels were silver, too, and with them she wore a dress that was... In a word, amazing. It was this light blue color - Dinah called it periwinkle - with a skirt that ended just above the knees, the fabric seemingly floating away from her legs (likely because she had threatened Oliver under penalty of death not to make her wear anything skintight - heels were one thing, but she would  _not_  go on a mission while wearing a miniskirt). The top was sleeveless, with a modest v-neck. It was such a simple design, but that was what made it so completely perfect. "Kid Flash, eat your heart out."

"So you want to impress Kid Flash, do you?"

Damn it. She had to stop forgetting how Dinah picked up on everything.

"Whatever, Dinah."

"You remember tonight's objective? I mean, the real, non teenage hormone-driven objective?"

"Wait for the team to obtain the package. Procure the package from the team. Make a copy of the information for Oliver, then deliver the package to the Shadows. This is a covert mission that will take place at a Wayne Foundation charity gala. Don't get caught. At least, not until I have the package. Then, I'm supposed to make my presence known and leave in a timely manner without being captured or breaking my ankle trying to run in heels that I'll be wearing because Oliver sucks. No dying, and no unnecessary fisticuffs, no matter how much fun it would be."

"Atta girl!" Oliver called out, barging into the room with a broad smile. "You look great. Ready?"

"To break your foot with my heel? Absolutely." He laughed like she was joking, only to have his foot very narrowly saved because Dinah stepped between them to protect him. "Dammit, Dinah. Why do you have to ruin all my fun?"

Oliver looked positively scandalized.


	7. Chapter 7

_This is the literal worst mission. Probably of all time. I mean, seriously! It's super boring_ and _I have to wear a tux?_

Wally could practically hear everyone's mental groans in response to his impatience.  _It_ _will be fine, Kid Flash. We will be done soon. Once Miss Martian and Robin have procured the package, we can leave immediately._

_Yeah, Wally, chill. Go find the dessert table or something and kill time. We'll be out of here in less than an hour, easy peasy._

_Easy for you to say, Rob, you're actually_ doing _something,_ he thought pointedly, before deciding to take his friend's advice and take advantage of the fancy spread. If he was going to be trapped there, he might as well try to get  _something_  for his trouble. There were so many options - pastries and puddings and cakes and man, oh man where to begin? He decided to start with what was closest to him and then move around the table as the mood struck. And what was closest to him was a mountainous platter of eclairs. He was reaching for one when his hand brushed someone else's.

He wouldn't have thought anything of it, except the owner of the hand he brushed spoke. Her voice was soft and raspy and he felt it swirling around his thoughts like campfire smoke. Some part of him felt like he recognized it, like he'd heard it before, but at the same time, it was completely foreign. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I just wasn't paying attention, and..." she broke off as their eyes met.

It felt like a punch in the gut. She was just beautiful. She had this amazing blonde hair, and her eyes were warm and brown and reminded him of the teddy bear he'd been given when he was four, that he'd carried around with him till he was eleven - not that he'd admit that particular detail to anyone. Ever. Under any circumstances. Especially not this girl. She had an elegant face and a long, slender neck and full lips and the light blue dress she was wearing made her look like a damn ray of moonlight, and  _fuck. Okay, no more of that._  Wally West was no sap. He didn't think of girls as rays of moonlight. Seriously, where the hell did that come from? She was just a babe. A particularly beautiful babe, but just a babe nonetheless. She cocked her head in confusion and he realized that he'd been staring at her without talking for like, at least forty five seconds. "It's okay! No problem. Like, at all. Seriously, don't worry about it."

She gave him a conspiratorial grin, and his heart started racing. "Don't tell anyone, but if you ask me? This whole charity party thing sucks. I mean, it's cool that they're raising money for a good cause and all, but come  _on_. Why do they have to make it so  _boring_?"

"Dude, right? I'm pretty sure my brain is going to start leaking out of my skull if I have to stay here much longer."

She bit her lip, and Wally wasn't sure, but he could swear she seemed nervous. "Well, I mean, since we're stuck here for now... What do you say we make our own fun? I mean, I did have to promise not to commit arson or vandalism, but I don't think I'll get in trouble for dancing with a cute boy."

He nodded and allowed her to grab his hand and pull him to the dance floor with her. "Wait, did you just call me cute?"

She blushed and looked away. Wally wasn't about to push his luck, so he just grabbed her the way guys grabbed girls they danced with in movies - the fingers of his left hand tangling with her right, and his right hand resting on her waist. She put her left hand on his shoulder, and they swayed slowly in place. He was pretty sure what they were doing wasn't any real sort of dancing, but he liked it just the same. 

_ KF, you ready to go? _

Jesus. The timing could not possibly be any worse than it was right now.  _Uh, kinda busy Rob._

_You wanted to get out of here ASAP. What happened?_

_I'm dancing with someone, dude. If I just book it, that would look way suspicious._

_I'll come get you then. Give you an excuse._

He was about to tell him not to bother, but he was too late. Robin was at his elbow, and the girl stopped dancing and let go of him, looking confused.

"Come on Wally, we've gotta head out now."

"Your name is  _Wally_?"

He buried his face in his hands. "Oh, man." That was a detail he didn't need shared with a pretty girl. Or, at least, not shared by Dick like that.

She gave them a bemused smile. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Wally. Oh, and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She paused for a moment. "Everything."

Well that was weird. But the mission was completed, so he had no choice but to follow his best friend in the world and the bane of his existence up to the roof so the team could do a quick debrief before making their exit via bioship.

Once they all gathered, Red Arrow was the first to speak. "You have the package?"

Robin smirked and reached into his tuxedo pocket. "Do I have the package, he asks. Of course I have the package. I wouldn't have pulled us all out if I didn't, would I?" He kept digging around, his face steadily growing more concerned.

"If you have it, then where is it?"

That was when they saw the stealth chopper across the courtyard. Holding firmly onto the rope ladder was a blonde in a blue dress, wearing a tiger mask.

Robin gave Wally a long, discrete look, before turning to the group. "It seems like they sent Tigress inside. She wasn't in her usual assassin-y getup, so I didn't recognize her. She brushed by me on our way to the stairwell, but I didn't think much of it. My guess is that somehow, the Shadows knew we'd be there. They planted her in the party so she could retrieve it."

They all knew what that meant. If the Shadows had known about their mission that night, it meant there was a traitor in their midst.

"The good news is that the information in the package is easily traceable. If anyone tries to use it, we will know who's behind the Shadows' recent movements."

Robin glared at him the entire way back to the cave. He owed his best friend. _Big time._


	8. Chapter 8

"I changed my mind. I don't like the villain-banter schtick. Actually, I hate it. And it sucks. A lot. I hate it almost as much as I hate Oliver for making me wear heels on a mission." 

Oliver arched a brow. That was... Well, it was pretty much the opposite of her reaction last time. "What happened?"

She stared at the ground. "Nothing. I mean, nothing that wasn't in the plan. I just..." she trailed off, glancing up at him. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable in a way he hadn't seen before. "The whole villain thing. It's hard to lie like that. I don't want to do it any more." 

Well, he was officially lost. She'd been having fun with the work, before. It wasn't violent, the Shadows never assigned her to missions with her dad or sister - too much risk of them veering off target if that happened - so he knew there was nothing going on there. Why did she suddenly look so... tired? And vulnerable? And... and sad. She looked really, really sad, and he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why.

Luckily, Dinah was there, too. She knew how to deal with stuff like this better than he did. "Does this have anything to do with Kid Flash?" she asked.

Weird question. Why would the kid have anything to do with Artemis's seemingly sudden attack of conscience? Only, with the way she froze, it was pretty clear that Dinah'd struck a nerve.

There was a long, silent moment. Artemis stared pointedly at the floor, the ceiling, her nails - anywhere but at Dinah. When she finally spoke, Ollie could barely hear her. "We danced."

"You  _danced_?"

"Yeah. Danced. Maybe flirted a little bit, I don't know. We talked. Joked. Then we danced," she said, a dreamy look showing up in her eyes while a small smile played over her lips. It vanished almost immediately. "And then I picked his friend's pocket and ran away," she scowled.

"It's for the mission," Dinah said softly. It was a gentle reminder.

"I know."

"It'll be over soon, kiddo. Then you can come clean," he said, trying to find some way to wipe that grim look off her face.

"Yeah, but it won't matter. He won't forgive me."

"How do you know?"

"I just... I know."

Oliver opened his mouth to try to find something to say, but Dinah shook her head. He closed his eyes -couldn't stand feeling so helpless. Suddenly, he felt her arms surround his stomach, and he took a deep, relieved breath. A hug was something he could definitely do.


	9. Chapter 9

"What are you doing, Master Dick?"

"Nothing, Alfred. Just trying to solve a puzzle."

It wasn't technically a lie. This whole thing really  _was_  quite the puzzle. At first, he'd wondered why no one else had noticed, but he came to realize that it was misleading by design. No one would bother ask why the daughter of two assassins decided to go into the family business, not without a reason. And Artemis Crock had been incredibly careful not to give anyone a reason.

Until she danced with Wally. That was weird. Because she danced with him, but there was no need for her to do so. She could easily have drifted around the fringes of the party until she saw them moving out. But no, she sought Wally out, and flirted with him, and they danced. And the clearest sign of all that there was more going on with "Tigress" than met the eye? The apology.

What had she'd said?  _"Well, it was nice to meet you, Wally. Oh, and I'm sorry."_  She'd meant that. Not as a taunt, either, she was genuinely sorry. He knew she was. Working with Batman, he'd been taught how to know when someone was lying - what to look for in a person's body language, their voice, their face. The apology was honest. She really and truly did feel bad.

And that was what tipped him off. Villains were never really the types to feel remorse, not like that. So there was something else going on there, and he was going to figure out what it was. Maybe she was forced into it. Or like, someone was blackmailing her? It had to be  _something._

And then it came to him. Her mom was Huntress.  _Huntress!_  Duh! Huntress's modus operandi was  _archery_. Green  _Arrow_  had been working with someone new sometimes ever since Roy joined the team. Well, two new people, but like, everyone knew about Black Canary. A martial arts expert with the ability to do a wicked hypersonic scream wasn't hard to identify. But the masked, cloaked archer who'd been seen with them a few times? Their identity was still a mystery.

Until now, that is.


	10. Chapter 10

"Artemis?"

She didn't respond. He knew she'd heard him, because her back went ramrod straight at the sound of his voice. But she quickly relaxed her posture and continued her patrol, leaping to the next rooftop and landing gracefully. If he hadn't spent so much time trailing after Batman, it might have been tough to keep up. The girl was fast.

"Artemis, wait! Please! You're not - I just want to talk." She looked back over her shoulder at him and nodded, before taking off at a run. Okay, mixed messages much? Yeesh. In any case, he followed her.

When she finally slowed down, she ducked onto a fire escape and in through an open window. He slid inside after her to find a sparsely furnished apartment.

"What  _is_  this place?"

She dropped her bulky hood. "Arrow rents it. We use it as a safehouse, crash pad, whatever. A place to lay low when the heat turns up or pass out when patrol runs long," she said, shrugging the massive jacket she wore off her shoulders . "Nothing fancy, but it works. The kitchen is pretty well stocked, though. Feel free to raid it if you're hungry."

" _Nice,_ " he said, opening the cupboard. It was packed with more junk food than he'd ever seen in his life. "What, you get the munchies or something?"

She laughed. "Nah, not me. Arrow. Don't tell him I told you, though."

"Your secret is safe with me," he told her. "So, you're probably wondering how I tracked you down."

"Nope."

"Oh." Well. That took away _his_ convenient entry point into a conversation.

"Arrow and I were pretty sure Bats knew what we were doing. Although, I figured that if he thought there was a problem, he'd at least come talk to us himself."

"He didn't send me." That was the first time anything even remotely resembling surprise crossed her face. "I tracked you down myself."

"Why?"

He couldn't answer honestly. What was he gonna say? _Because you stomped on my best friend's heart, but I know you didn't want to hurt him, so I want to understand what the hell is going on._  Nope. Not an option. He countered with a question. "Why haven't you and Arrow looped the league in on your ops? They - No,  _we_  could have helped you."

She wouldn't look at him. "I get him. Arrow, I mean. We understand each other. Batman gets it, too, I know he does. With the way he plays it? He _has_ to. And since you're his protege, that means that you understand, too, at least sort of. Too many powerful people in the same place, playing a game with such high stakes... It's a house of cards. A dangerous one."  _That_  made sense. He remembered her history. Her parents had been part of a particular group of villains, tight knit and elite. The incident leading to her mother's arrest - and injury - had been because one of her allies had, unknowingly, given some information on their plans to Batman. That compromised the mission enough that the League could thwart it, but in the process, her mother's extraction route got blocked off. The rest was history.

"I'm sorry. Y'know, about how it all happened."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I - I'm not mad at the League. They did what they had to do. It was the right thing," she said with a heavy sigh. "The League did the right thing. My mom... She and I both know. The consequences... They were big. Difficult. But it was right. I still learned the lesson, though. All it takes is  _one_. One person, one slip up, one moment, and  _everything_  can fall to pieces. Everything. I won't let that happen again. And a smaller setup means fewer moving pieces, fewer places where information could leak, where an operative could go bad."

"So, you two decided to take this on alone? You go in undercover, he's your handler, no one else knows?"

A shrug. "Like I said, Batman's probably had us clocked from the start. And, y'know, Canary's a bit clued in - she doesn't ask for the details of those things. Says she doesn't wanna know. But she helps with prep sometimes, the stuff Ol - Arrow can't do."

"Like the party?" She nodded grimly. He was tired of the grim, though, so he went for a joke. "I dunno, man. Oliver Queen seems like he'd be pretty good at hair and makeup."

That earned him a grin. Finally. "Ollie does a mean French braid, actually. Solid eye for color, too. He actually picked the dress I wore that night. But he  _is_  a real klutz with a makeup brush." Then, the smile fell away, and all he could see was earnest regret. "I really am sorry. About.. Y'know. Wally. I didn't think... Didn't know... I never meant for that to happen."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. Don't know if he'll get that," he told her. She didn't look particularly surprised about that. Just.. kind of sad. "I wanted to help, though. I wasn't able to figure out any details of what you guys are looking into, just that you're looking into  _something_. Something... Kind of related to what we're doing? I think. So, do you wanna fill in any blanks?"

"Sorry, that's... That's where all of this gets  _really_  messy. Like, if you thought that what you already knew was messy, you are in for a surprise. It's all so wild right now. I honestly doubt that even Bats has figured out what  _exactly_  we're doing. It's been absolute hell covering our tracks, but... We have to keep it up. Still can't really tell you any details."

"Why?"

She sighed, then finally looked him in the eye for the first time all night. "Your team has a leak."

Oh, crap.


End file.
